Position of the Heart
by Sakura Uchiha1115
Summary: Searching for her husband, Sakura soon realizes that, although she seems content with her relationship, there is something missing. What could that something be and why is she being haunted with dreams of him? Mainly ItaSakuSasu has NejiTen and NaruHina
1. I Love You Today

**Position of the Heart**

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Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto_

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I never imagined that one day I would come to detest anything that happened to do with my own husband. He was never nice. He was never one to smile often and when he did it was like nothing had ever happened. He wasn't even one to tell me he loved me more then it was absolutely necessary.

_I didn't hate him, though. On the contrary, I loved him. I still do and maybe I always will...it's just..._

_I never thought that I would love his brother as well…_

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_**Chapter One: I Love You Today**_

My pace quickened as I continued to escape my pursuer. I heard his footsteps behind me, which were a constant reminder to me of how much faster he was than I. The only way I would be able to escape him would be to out smart him, which was hard to do in times like this.

I could almost hear his chuckle as he smirked behind me; he did it so often. This time I would show him. I would finally show him how much I had improved during his recent absence. Although it was nothing compared to his almost three year absence, it had been quite a while since I had seen him. To encounter him on my way back from my own mission was just pure unlucky. He immediately ran after me and I had no time to prepare myself let alone pack up everything from my temporary camping site.

I jumped up onto a tree branch only to have it break under my weight. Cursing inwardly, I felt myself land into his arms and looked up to see him smirking down at me.

He didn't say anything to me. Not even an "I missed you." or a "how have you been?" No, none of that. Instead he put me down on my own legs and walked the rest of the way with me in silence.

When we both walked inside of the village we were greeted by many people, some I didn't even know. They seemed happy to see us. Yes, we were supposedly an 'ideal couple' in the eyes of the people.

I tried to look up and smile at him but it did not make him smile with me. Not even a smirk this time and that was usually better then nothing at all. Something had to be wrong if he wouldn't even humor me.

We both walked back to the Hokage tower and gave our separate reports. Tsunade was happy to see the both of us as well and welcomed us home. While we walked out of her office we heard shouting further down. Instead of being angry shouting though it was more like inspirational yelling, Naruto.

The shouting got louder and it wasn't long before we were staring at Naruto Uzumaki 'the next Hokage' which he was going to be in a matter of months. According to Tsunade the only thing left to do was to sign some papers and get the consent of the elders, she was working on it.

"Sakura-chan! Sasuke!" he shouted. I looked to his side to see a worried looking Hinata and she was polite enough to wave to us. I returned the favor.

"Where have both of you been? I can't believe you would leave us for that long and not say anything! Especially you teme!" Naruto pointed a finger at Sasuke.

"Oh yeah, real mature. Next Hokage my ass." Sasuke smirked and spoke for the first time since I had seen him back in the forest surrounding Konoha.

"At least I'm not gay on the side when my wife is away!" When Naruto said this a gasp escaped my lips. Sasuke cheated on me when I was gone? Even worse he cheated on me with other _males?_

"Ah, you baka! You don't even have a wife yet! And I _don't_ cheat on her!"

"Of course you don't. Being a homosexual on the side and doing other males doesn't count as cheating on Sakura-chan. And just in case you're _still_ socially inept, I'm engaged!"

"I'm not gay, nor am I socially inept! I never was! When'd you learn that one anyway? Did you actually pick up a dictionary when I was gone?"

"No, but I know you picked you up a pedophile when you were away."

I shook my head and turned away. Listening to this was making me question his masculinity. Instead, I asked Hinata how things were going with her.

"I guess things are good..." she sighed, "but they could be better...What about you. How are you doing?"

"Not much better, but things should get 'good' soon, I hope..." She nodded and that's when Naruto went to her side and grinned in her face. She blushed a deep red but still seemed troubled. Her days of fainting had ended long ago. Around the time where Kiba started to make advances on her.

I found it rather ironic that around that time things were wrapping up for Sasuke and I and we were piecing together our almost completely deteriorated relationship. Naruto had just begun to strengthen his relationship with other people to leave us time to ourselves. He just so happened to see Kiba in her face and yelled at him for 'invading her personal space'.

"Well," Naruto said finally, "Hinata and I have something important we need to take care of before I become Hokage." he smirked. "I'll see you all later!" With that he and Hinata walked away and he continued to shout plausible things about her down the hall. I wondered what they could be doing that would shake her up like this but I dismissed it as their own business and chose to keep my nose out of it. Sasuke always did say I had a knack for sticking it where it didn't belong and end up getting stuck in an unwanted situation.

Without saying a word to one another Sasuke and I walked to the Uchiha mansion and I prepared our dinner. It was as though we had both been in town for the longest and were seeing each other every day. Not very interesting at all.

"Sakura." I heard Sasuke finally call my name. Before I could turn around I felt his arms wrap around my waist and his head rested on my shoulder. Slowly I relaxed and finished dinner, trying my best not to move around so much so that he wouldn't let go. If he did I was afraid he wouldn't make any physical contact with me for the rest of the day.

Eventually he had to let me go and we ate in silence until I asked him how his mission had gone. He gave me simple 'hn' and I assumed he didn't care how mine had gone.

We went to sleep at exactly eight o' clock and that was it. It was slightly embarrassing to admit but the Uchiha's slept in separate beds and were both still virgins, well I was anyways. I wasn't sure about him. We had been married longer than any other people in the rookie nine. I used to be proud of that but now...I wasn't so sure.

When I cracked my eyes open the next morning I saw him staring back at me from his own bed. This was what I always saw when I woke up. I always liked to think that was his way of saying 'good morning' to me and not leaving me alone when I awoke. Never once did I wake up in the mansion and he wasn't there staring back at me. Who knows how many hours he had waken up before I ever did.

I smiled at him without lifting my head from my pillow. He got up and walked over to me, kissed me on my forehead and left the room. Something was definitely wrong.

I put on my slippers and my robe, all of which were pink, courtesy of Sasuke, and headed out the door and walked into the kitchen to see him sitting there. Arms folded, eyes closed.

"Sasuke-kun?" my voice cracked. "Is something wrong?" I sat down beside him and took his hand in mine. "Is there something you're not telling me?" I asked worriedly. He just sighed. When he opened his eyes and looked into mine they were a familiar red color with the black tomoes in them. This worried me further.

"Sakura..." he began taking a breath. This was not going to be good... "Sakura, I'm going away for a while."

My eyes narrowed and my grip on his hand tightened. "Why?" but I already knew his answer.

"It's about time I settled things with _him_." he hissed the last part.

Before I could stop myself I began to sob uncontrollably. I don't know why but I had thought that since we were married he didn't need to kill his brother any longer as he had wanted to before. Maybe I thought that if he had me everything would be fine, but obviously this was not the case.

With one of the rare acts of kindness, Sasuke reached over and pulled me onto his lap and into a tight, protective hug. I don't know how long I cried but eventually I drifted off into a deep slumber. Right before I was completely knocked out I heard Sasuke's voice whisper in my ear.

"I love you, Sakura..."

And that was that...

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_**Chapter Two Preview:**_

"_He'll be back real soon, don't worry."_

"_What if something happens to him?"_

"_You Uchiha's are real negative, aren't you? I said he'll be back. Now go home and sleep."_

"_Whatever you say, Ino..."_

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Well that's it for now, I hope you all enjoyed it so far. Chapter Two should be up soon!

Reviews are very much appreciated and if you feel the need to flame me than don't bother. If you have a problem with my writing/work than give it to me in the form of constructive criticism rather than using unintelligable words, thank you.


	2. Missing

_**Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, I'd own a laptop, too but sadly I'm restricted to a computer on a desk in my room that obscures my vision of the television...**__**

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Position of the Heart_**

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_**Chapter Two: Missing**_

When I opened my eyes for the second time that morning he was not there staring back at me. His eyes. His black eyes. They weren't there. I shot up instantly and looked around the room in a panic.

That had to be a dream. Sasuke wouldn't leave me like that. He _knows_ better. There was nothing I was more afraid of then abandonment.

He _knew_ that.

I told him countless times. Ever since we had been together I always asked him not to leave me. I had seen what it had done to him and didn't ever want to experience it but here I was. Alone.

The ringing of the phone on my bedside table snapped me back into my senses temporarily. When I answered the phone it was Tsunade's voice that greeted me on the other line. "Hello?" she called, making sure someone had answered.

"Tsunade-sama?"

"Yes, Sakura this is me. I'm calling you in regards to Sasuke's departure. Are you alright?" she asked me. I could hear the worry in her words but I told her I was fine anyway. She probably knew I was lying though because later on Naruto came by without Hinata, a rare occurrence in itself, and asked me if I wanted to go to the Ichiraku with him. I said yes to humor him.

While at the Ichiraku I laughed and smiled as though Sasuke were not gone. This was exactly the reason why I often went on missions when he did. So I would have something to keep my mind off of him. Without that everything seemed like a fabricated lie in my eyes.

No one knew about this of course but I could assume that they could guess. After a while of faking it with Naruto, Ino came over with a bright smile on her face. Chouji at her side. I smiled and waved to them, too.

"Hey Sakura! It's been a while. Uchiha steal you away from the world?" she joked. Often Ino and I joked about Sasuke's over possessiveness but this time I wasn't up to it. I only broadened my smile and went back to eating my ramen.

"Sakura, what's wrong?" Ino sighed, exasperated.

I shook my head and continued to eat.

"Is it Sasuke? Did he leave you _again_?" when I gave no answer it was all she needed.

"Sakura...he'll be back soon, don't worry about it." she waved her hand in the air dismissing the subject. I couldn't let it go so easily.

"What if something happens to him?" I asked, trying not to cry again.

She let out another deep sigh."You Uchiha's are real negative, aren't you? I said he'll be back. Now go home and sleep." As she said this she grabbed my ramen and waved me a goodbye.

"Whatever you say, Ino..." I said as I walked away. I didn't need sleep. I had just gotten plenty of that.

Naruto hadn't noticed my leave due to Chouji engaging him in an eating contest of ramen so I decided that while he was distracted I would find a way to get Sasuke back or at least go help him.

I rushed home and came up with what I thought was probably the most perfect plan I was going to get for a situation like this. It wasn't very adequate, though but it would do for now...

I was going to sneak out at night while every one was asleep then I would go searching for Sasuke and I would not come home until I found him. There was no way I was going to let him do this alone. Besides, I was the best medic in Konoha, he needed _someone _to heal his injuries. Who better to do it then his own wife?

I packed only the necessities into my bag and hid it inside my closet so that if anyone were to enter they would not think I was planning on leaving. To pass the time away I decided that maybe sleeping again wasn't such a bad idea afer all.

This time, though I laid myself on Sasuke's bed and drifted off into slumber once more, but it was not an undisturbed sleep...

_**Dream: **_

_I awoke in a field of flowers. It seemed as though I was surrounded by acres and acres of them. They were so pretty. Beautiful..._

_I picked one_ _and put it up to my nose to smell the sweet fragrance of my dream. The familiar scent was not one of a flower though...Strange, yes, but it smelled like...Sasuke..._

_When this realization hit me the flowers began to burn all around me and soon I was surrounded by ashes for as long as I could see...it wasn't a pleasant site._

_No longer was this dream a dream but it had turned into a nightmare and this was confirmed when I saw two glowing red eyes in the sky. Mangekyou Sharingan..._

I awoke this time in a cold sweat and guessed that Sasuke's bed would forever contain memories and a haunting feeling of his brother to whomever slept on it. This must be why Sasuke was often up in the middle of the night panting as I was currently. Nightmares of Itachi Uchiha...

I turned and looked at the clock the sat on Sasuke's bedside and the red letters read 8:30 at night. I decided that it was probably a good time to get going. I bade farewell to my home in the Uchiha district and headed towards the main gates.

I was nearly successful with my escape but I could see Hinata and Naruto waiting for me in the distance. They must've known...was I that obvious and predictable?

When I landed gracefully in front of them Naruto grinned at me. "I already told Granny you were leaving before she could chew you out about it when you got back. She told me to tell you "Come back safely"." he said.

Hinata walked over to me and handed me a bag of things, probably medical supplies and went back to stand besides Naruto. "Good luck Sakura." she said, "I hope you find him soon. Come back safely, the both of you..."

I smiled at her and nodded.

"Are you sure you don't want us to go with you Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked, worried about me.

"No, I'm alright. I want to do this on my own..."

"I knew you would say something like that...You know you two will never change." He smiled brightly at me and even in the night it seemed to have a glow all it's own.

"Neither will you." I countered, knowing that out of everyone I knew, Naruto didn't need to change.

"Take care, Sakura-chan. Oh and try and come back really soon..." As he finished I heard his voice getting a little more urgent.

"I will, don't worry. Why so...eager?" I tried to word it right.

Naruto gave Hinata a strange look and she nodded. I was instantly curious about this now.

"Well in a few more months I'm gonna be a daddy..." he said more serious this time. I was shocked stiff. Naruto a daddy? That was going to be so adorable! I was so happy for them! Even Sasuke would be happy!

"Ah! Congratulations both of you!" I ran over and hugged them both.

I never thought Hinata would be pregnant _before _their marriage but as soon as they'd gotten together, before the engagement, I had hoped that I would not miss Naruto's actions during Hinata's pregnancy or Hinata's own behavior during pregnancy for that matter. It looked like I would be missing this once in a life time chance if I didn't not hurry back with Sasuke.

"Well, you'd better hurry or you'll let him get further away. Good luck, Sakura." Hinata told me before she kissed Naruto on the cheek and headed back home, probably tired. I gave her my thanks was watched as she retreated back into the village.

Naruto walked over to me and embraced me in a loving and warm hug that I returned.

"Don't worry Naruto. I'll be back soon!" I smiled, trying once more not to cry.

"I know you will Sakura-chan! I'll see you soon. Oh and when you bring him back I won't go easy on him!" he said with a sad smile.

"I know you won't..." I muttered, almost fearing for Sasuke's safety upon his return.

"Later, Sakura-chan...and good luck."

"Thanks, Naruto. I'll see you when we get back."

Naruto waved as I walked out of the village and then in a matter of seconds, although I did not know it yet, I was on the path to becoming a missing ninja and a few steps further from saving the love of my life...

Sasuke...

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_**Chapter Three Preview:**_

"_You're quite the pretty one aren't you?"_

"_Who are you and what do you want with me?"_

"_Don't be so hostile!_ _Let's be friends."_

"_I don't think so!"_

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Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed, next one should be up soon!

Actally since this is so short I'll put up chapter two and three tonight... The chapters will get longer, don't worry. Additionally, I won't be home thursday through sunday, I'll be in NY for the first time watching Batman 3 (Hopefully)! Haha...Ahem, anyway, no update during that period of time.

Reviews are very much appreciated and same rule for chapter one applies here about flaming!


	3. Shortcut

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**_

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_**Position of the Heart**__**

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_**Chapter Three: Shortcut**_

As I walked through the forest at a fast pace I realized two things.

One: I didn't know where Akatsuki base, hideout, or whatever, was.

Two: I didn't know how far Sasuke had gone or in which direction he went.

In short I didn't know if Sasuke even knew the location, which he probably didn't.

I was beginning to think that this was going to be a very dead-end mission but I couldn't loose face that easily or even that early. Sasuke was somewhere and all I needed to know was that I would find him soon. I had enough faith in that to keep on going.

Going from place to place to place and asking them 'Have you seen this man?' and holding up a picture of him was my only other option if I were to get anywhere. I knew nothing was going to happen if I just passed through and looked around and went 'oh, not here' and did that for every place I went to. That's a time waster.

A few days into my search I stumbled upon a village that was approximately two hundred miles away from my starting point, still no luck. I walked up the nearest stand that had food, exhausted from constant searching.

Almost as soon as I sat down I heard a woman's voice ask me, "Don't I know you from somewhere?" When I looked up I saw a lady that looked to be in her early thirties, maybe late twenties. She had dull brown hair but her eyes were a striking yellow color. I had never seen anything like it before. Of course I didn't know her...

"Know me?" I chuckled. "I don't think we've met before. I think I would have remembered you." I said.

"No. I'm _sure_ I've seen you somewhere..." she persisted. "Wait! I do know you! You're Sasuke's-"

Before she could finish I shot up from my seat and stared her straight in the face. "Sasuke?" I said in a rush, "You've seen my Sasuke?" I could tell by her reaction she wasn't the least bit surprised by what I had done. She did not move from her spot and she smiled at me.

"Yes, I have. It was a while ago, though. About four days, I'd say." her smile did not fade as she spoke. "He seemed rather bent on searching for someone...I forgot the details. He stayed with me for a short while, often looking homesick. When I asked him who he was missing he handed me a picture and didn't say a word."

Not only was I shocked that Sasuke actually stayed with someone like that, I was angered by it. But the fact that she said he had missed me made me relax and my will to find him greater.

In my shock she continued to speak.

"Sasuke wasn't a very talkative person, though. He didn't tell me who you were to him but I knew you were probably important. When I looked at his left hand I had concluded that you must've been his wife. It was so sweet to see something like that. And now you show up days later looking for him! How wonderful your relationship must be!" she exclaimed.

I sighed. It was yet another person who thought Sasuke and I had a perfect relationship. Sure the little things were the sweetest things and they did count but I couldn't help but always feel like I was waiting for him to do something more for me. I did love him after all and of course, even though it didn't show quite often, he loved me. My devotion would pay off soon, right?

"Oh, I must be boring you! I apologize. You see, I'm kind of a romanticist. Anything sweet like this moves me to the point of tears." When I looked down at her she was indeed, sniffling. A handkerchief already at her nose.

"Where are my manners? I'm Rosalyn, it's very nice to meet you! You're one lucky girl."

"Thanks." I said politely. "Nice to meet you, too. I'm Sakura Uchiha."

"Oh! Sakura! What a pretty name!" she said, glee in her voice. "Are you staying for long?"

I thought about it for a while. I needed my rest but if I did that now Sasuke would be long gone when I decided to leave. I told her that I would stay for one night and leave by morning and she kindly offered to let me stay at her house if need be. Taking her up on this offer, I followed behind her as she led me to her home.

It was a nice building with a nice white fence and white paint. The garden surrounding it was just gorgeous! She had many assortments of flowers and they all seemed to go together nicely. It made me think of Ino. If I had thought to take a camera I would have taken a picture but those aren't the types of things you bring on a retrieval mission. Especially when you leave as hastily as I had.

We proceeded inside and it was just as wonderful as the outside was with unique patterns on the wall paper and a clean, perfectly white, carpet. It was hard to imagine Sasuke sitting in a place like this. Sasuke wasn't usually one to stay with anyone even if they offered...How did she convince him to stay with her? I had to know.

"Um, Rosalyn was it?" I asked her, "How exactly did you meet Sasuke?"

"How did I meet him?" she giggled. "Well to be honest the recent encounter with him was not our first meeting."

"What?" now I was bordering on anger and sadness.

"Calm down." Rosalyn said as though she could read my thoughts, "We're nothing more then acquaintances. Don't worry." she assured me. "It was years ago actually..He's what now? Twenty six?"

I nodded.

"When he and I were younger I used to take care of him on occasion. It was only when Itachi couldn't do it himself though. Sometimes I thought he'd leave me to take care of Sasuke on purpose but it's never good to assume...Anyway, I can't remember back to when I first met him but I was somewhat of a friend of the family but I moved shortly after I turned ten. Sasuke was around six or so at that time, Itachi was twelve."

"You mean you knew them both? Then if you've been gone that long...does that mean you don't know about..." my voice drifted off and I wasn't sure if I should continue. She surprised me by laughing lightly to herself.

"I know about the massacre. As a matter of fact after I had heard about it I sent a letter to Sasuke telling him that he was allowed to come here and my mom and dad and I would care for him. We didn't get a response but I was sure he'd gotten my letter. About...a week after the incident Itachi paid me a visit and assured me he hadn't lost his sanity. I tried to get him to tell me why but he wouldn't answer me. That was the last I saw of the both of them until now."

"Wow..." was all I could say after her long explanation. I had no idea she'd known him like that...Thinking about my anger earlier made me blush in embarrassment. "I'm sorry...I assumed...something different."

Rosalyn smiled at me and broke out into a full laugh now. "You worry too much!" she said between breaths.

When her laughter finally faded I asked her a question that seemed completely insane, but I wanted to know more about her relationship with the Uchiha's. I grinned to lighten the mood of my question. It was an awkward one alright. At least, in my opinion. "What kind of relationship did you and Itachi have?"

I saw her cheeks tint lightly with red before she answered. "Well..." she began. "As I child I had a crush on him for the longest time. He was always so nice...Before I moved away on my last day he kissed me on my cheek and promised he'd see me again. Thinking back though his tone seemed pretty sad when he said that but I was too upset with moving to realize it. A year and a couple weeks or so later when I saw him I didn't know what to think. The most important thing he'd said to me then was that he was sane and that I should take care of myself...and I haven't seen him since."

For the rest of the day we didn't say a word. Rosalyn silently showed me to my temporary room and eventually I laid on the bed and fell asleep.

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I woke up the next morning and instinctively looked over to my left, the direction Sasuke's bed had been from mine, and this time there wasn't even a bed there. Just a wall. I sighed as I sat up and remembered what had happened the day before. I was almost bought to tears when I realized how much further I had to go in order to find Sasuke but I got out of the bed anyway, got dressed in some clean clothes and headed to the living room.

"Ah , I see you're awake!" Rosalyn smiled when I saw her. "So you're a late sleeper, huh?"

Late sleeper? I always woke up no later then seven. What did she mean late? My puzzled expression made her chuckle a bit.

"It's two in the afternoon." she answered my unspoken question.

I gasped. I had planned on leaving early! I was supposed to be gone already! What if Sasuke had already gotten a lead on Akatsuki base? No...he couldn't have...but he could already be...

Rosalyn went over and put a hand on my shoulder. "Don't worry, I'm sure you'll be able to catch up with him. After all, I know where's he's going!" she sung.

"You do?" my eyes felt watery. "Why didn't you tell me before?"

"Because you needed your rest, hun!" Rosalyn giggled. "Anyway, are you prepared to leave?" I nodded and she continued. "Akatsuki base isn't that far from here."

Once more I gasped. "How do you know this?"

Almost as soon as I said it her eyes went cold and I shut my mouth, asking no further questions.

"I'd say about...seven hundred kilometers."

That was when my mouth dropped. "That's about four hundred and thirty miles! That's twice as long as the distance from here to Konoha!" I moaned.

"Let me finish!" she snapped at me. I quieted again.

"There's a short cut that I want you to follow. You'll catch up to, or get ahead of, Sasuke with no problem but bandits."

"Bandits?" I repeated. Not necessarily threatened by this, just making sure I had it down.

She nodded and proceeded with giving me directions. "There is a very specific reason why I did not tell Sasuke to take this route, though. He didn't need to rush in the first place but anyway, the bandits are fierce and they'll kill, rape, you name it- with anyone-so be careful. Do you understand me?"

I nodded once more.

"Good..." I could tell by looking into her eyes that she regretted telling me about the shortcut but if she did she didn't say anything about it. She marked the path on my map and I headed out towards Akatsuki base with a quick 'thanks' and a 'bye' to Rosalyn.

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"This ain't so bad!" My voice rang through the air as I walked the path of the short cut. She must have been over exaggerating when she spoke of bandits. I was a ninja anyway. Bandits weren't going to come out and kill me so easily. Besides, I was trained under the fifth, one of the most powerful ninja's out there, not to mention my medical skill. No bandit could take me.

After walked for about six hours straight I began to doubt this thought...

"It must've been some of Sasuke's Uchiha pride rubbing off on me or something...that was way to confident for the norm..." as I continued I heard bushes rustling around me and I quickly slipped on my gloves and scanned the area. I knew there were no animals so it must have been those bandits...

My heart beat speed up. What if they were as bad as Rosalyn had told me? Mentally I began to come up with some fort of an escape plan that kept me on the shortcut, just in case they were stronger than I was.

When a man emerged from the bushes I noticed that he was about two times my size in height and weight...maybe three times going through the middle but the point was that he was bigger than me, or for that matter, than I would ever be.

"You're quite the pretty one aren't you?" he smirked at me. His voice was gruff with a mocking tone to it and it was deep as well. I didn't like it...

"Who are you and what do you want with me?" I asked angrily, refraining from yelling.

"Don't be so hostile! Let's be friends," he said with a false friendly attitude towards me.

"I don't think so!" I scoffed at him.

He approached me slowly, a dazed look in his eyes. It became evident to me that he smelled of alcohol and was drunk. His swaying gave that away. Instantly my mind flashed to Rock Lee in his time of intoxication. There was no way I was going to take this on lightly after seeing_ that_.

The man reached for me and I did a back flip, sending a kick to his face in the process. (Authors Note: PARTICIPIAL PHRASE SCAFFOLDED!! I think...) Upon landing I felt slightly dizzy. I had no idea why and brushed it off. This guy was going to go down before he could lay a finger on me.

"Now why'd you go and do that?" he slurred. "Talk about ungrateful." I backed away as he got into his fighting stance and headed straight towards me. He was pretty accurate for a drunk but I did another back flip, this time landing in a tree.

To my surprise he took out a chained sickle and threw it towards me. Wasn't expecting that one...

I grabbed my kunai from my holster and threw them at him in a diagonal. The man, as I had expected, did not notice the rest of the kunai and jumped into the path of the weapons. I didn't give him time to recover from my attack and I jumped on top of him and sent another kunai straight through his throat, separating his head from the rest of his body.

I chuckled to myself, that wasn't so hard. Mentally, I asked myself why he was alone in the first place, being somewhere like this. I assumed that he had not been alone and the others would come for him soon so I fled the scene and continued my trek through the shortcut.

_**Chapter 4 Preview:**_

"_It's not polite to stare."_

"_So are you going to tell me your name?"_

"_No."_

"_You're rude, you know that?"_

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I was supposed to put this on when I put up chapter two but I fell asleep, sorry about that. Last chapter I also said I was going to see Batman 3, I meant Spiderman 3. I really need to stop going to bed so late. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter as well. Thanks to all who reviewed!


	4. Stranger

_**Chapter Four: Stranger**_

It took me approximately five days before I found any evidence of a path, possibly Sasuke's. My clothes were torn, my body ached and I had various wounds here and there. It turns out Rosalyn wasn't kidding about the shortcut. I had healed my wounds to the best of my abilities without using a huge amount of my chakra. I would definitely need it for later.

There were about three times I thought I was going to die, almost eight when I came very close to being raped, and nine that left me almost completely broke. Still, I continued in my pursuit for my husband.

When I reached what appeared to be an abandoned camping site I scanned the area for any indication of it being Sasuke's. Since he was one person there wasn't much here and if he had to abandon this area then he was without a sleeping bag and what appeared to be a bag with some unnecessary items like clothes...Well...almost unnecessary. I smirked and went through the bag.

I found a familiar item amongst the clothes. It was a black shirt that Sasuke had often wore when he went to bed when it was cold in the house. These were indeed, Sasuke's things and he had been here. But now the question was, why did he have to abandon camp?

The best thing I could come up with was that he had to leave during some type of a battle. When I looked around I did see signs of a struggle. Kunai in trees, a bit of blood on the ground...

I sighed and took off in the direction of the kunai and the dripping blood. It didn't appear to be much, though, but part of me hoped that it was Sasuke's and the other part of me hoped that it wasn't because if it were then, depending upon how far he went with this, he was going to bleed to death.

Sasuke was smart enough to get it treated, though, right? Eventually this path will stop and then I would have to find another trail...or so I thought.

The path didn't end.

I followed it to a small town that looked to be half lived in. There didn't seem to be anything clean there either. The buildings I passed were torn and broken down. Just where was I? I didn't know...

I followed the blood into an alleyway beside what seemed to be some type of a food stand. As my eyes searched the alley for Sasuke they landed upon a huddled figure by the big trash bin on the wall.

Fearing that Sasuke was dead over there, I ran to the figure and turned it over into a nice, comfortable, safe position.

"Sasuke-kun? Sasuke-kun!" I called to him, trying to get an answer.

I got a soft groan in response.

I gently lifted him up over my shoulders. He seemed a bit taller then he was but my memory could be a little hazy and inaccurate from all those days without him. I dragged him out of the alley and got a room in a run down hotel. It didn't really matter, though, so long as we were staying somewhere.

The man at the counter didn't seem to care about our appearance and gave me the key to our room. I took them and headed down the halls and into a deserted looking cabin-like shack when I opened our door. I sighed and set Sasuke onto the bed and went into the bathroom and ran water on a piece of cloth. Too bad they didn't have hot water...Pathetic.

I came back into the room and saw Sasuke already beginning to sit up and I smiled.

"How are you feeling?" I asked with a wave. Then I noticed something horribly, utterly, incredibly _wrong _about my husband. His hair seemed to have grown down to his back. That, I knew, was impossible for the amount of days he was gone. It would have been years before that happened. Besides, Sasuke told me he didn't want long hair. He even told me he'd rather have my own hair cut short.

This could not be my Sasuke...

I dropped my towel in shock and stammered, "Wh-who are you?"

The person slowly looked up at me. His eyes were cold, but they seemed to resemble Sasuke's own onyx ones during his stay with Orochimaru a few years ago. Empty...

He did not answer my question, but instead he laid himself back down on the bed, head now on the pillow. He sighed deeply and turned his head in my direction. His face was dirty, as was the rest of him. The lines in his face were barely visible because of the dirt but even with the lines he did not appear to be very old at all. I guessed him to be about thirty or so.

Thinking that perhaps he hadn't heard me I repeated my question. "Who are-"

"I heard you." he cut me off. His voice sent shivers down my spine. It was deep and smooth. His tone was a bit harsh, though, and I thought that maybe he didn't speak to people often. Like Sasuke...

"Um, aren't you going to-"

"No." he answered my unfinished question.

I picked up my towel and walked over to his side hesitantly. This time I had really screwed up.

"I'm sorry." I reached out to hand him the towel, "I thought you were...someone else."

The stranger stared at the towel a few moments before taking it and wiping off his face. As the dirt was removed I saw that he looked even more like my Sasuke, but at the same time completely different. How that was possible, I didn't know. All I was sure of was that he was indeed, very handsome but not as handsome as my Sasuke-kun.

"It's not polite to stare." he told me. I yelped, embarrassed, and turned away.

"So, are you going to tell me your name?" I asked, my back to him. I was not totally trusting of him and was silently grateful I had not taken off my weapons.

"No." the man sighed, almost sounding annoyed. His presence made me miss my husband even more.

"You're rude, you know that?" I told him matter-of-factly.

"I didn't ask you. Are you aware of this?" came his reply.

"Well then sor-ry Mr. Dirt Face." I said childishly.

There was a small silence before he asked, "How old are you? Twelve?"

I pouted and blushed a bit. I was acting a lot under my own age. Telling him how old I was would be really embarrassing. I decided to take it as a rhetorical question instead and not have to answer it.

"Are you in pain?" A question came in its place.

"That doesn't concern you." Mr. Dirt Face said stubbornly.

I decided to ignore his mean-ness and asked him another question, one that might help me to my goal.

"Have you seen this man?" I took out my picture of Sasuke and showed it to him. He viewed it in silence and for a moment. I thought I saw a look of hate flicker in his eyes but it was so fast that I dismissed it as my imagining things.

He shook his head no and attempted to stand but his wounds wouldn't let him. I chuckled a bit.

"See Mr. Dirt Face, I asked if you were hurting and you said no. Look at you now." he rose an eyebrow at me in question. Maybe it was because I'd called him Mr. Dirt Face? Probably...

I walked over to him anyway and took the cloth and cleaned off the rest of his visible wounds the best I could. To my surprise, he let me and didn't move an inch. If he were Sasuke he would probably tell me that he could do it himself.

I used a small amount of my chakra to heal them so that they were not severe enough to kill him and then stopped to smile at him.

"There, all done."

"You're a medic ninja," he said more to himself then to me. His eyes narrowed as he stared at me. How ironic…

"It's not polite to stare!" I mimicked his words from earlier. He chuckled at this.

"So she does learn." was his only response. I pouted again.

"Of course I do! You're one the worst people I've ever met! How about a thanks?" he 'hn' ed after I said this so I tried another question. "How did you get wounded like this in the first place?"

"Mind your own." he told me.

I sighed, what an asshole...

"Then may I at least know where you're from or something?" I tried again and again he answered.

"Mind your own."

This made me aggravated. "Alright, fine. If you're not going to tell me anything then I think you should leave. By the way, you're welcome for everything I've done for you."

"I didn't ask for your thanks, nor did I ask for your help. You should not feel that I owe you anything." and with that Mr. Dirt Face stood and walked to the door. Before he left completely he turned around to me and said, "If I hear you call me Mr. Dirt Face one more time your search for your beloved will end in a very unpleasant way."

I scoffed, "Oh I'm so scared. A guy I found half dead in an alley in some beat up town is threatening me with my life. Pfft, as if you could-"

Before my sentence was complete I was face to face with him. His own face was now semi-clean and his eyes were boring straight through me. They did not seem to hold anger but instead something more frightening. There was nothing.

It was that indifference about having said he would kill me that made me realize that he _could_ do it and if he did, he wouldn't think twice.

I gulped.

Without saying another word Mr. Dirt- I mean the stranger- walked out of the room and what I had thought would be out of my life forever.

When he was gone I did not feel comfortable inside the room any longer. Not even inside the hotel itself. I headed into the next village and got a different one there just so that I could get away from the terror of the stranger I had just come upon.

The next morning I would resume my search for my lost husband...

_**Chapter 5 Preview:**_

"_You're a boy?"_

"_I get that a lot." _

"_What's your name, huh?"_

"_Not until I know yours first."_

* * *

Well it has been a while and I apologize for that. I graduated etc. and now I'm on summer break etc. and well, June has been a busy month for me and it's only the 11th (there's a lot more to go) so if I don't update in a while again it's because of this. I'm just really glad I'm finally updating (and I'm also thinking about revising the order of chapters 5-10...I'm a bit nervous about putting those up)

Well thanks to all who reviewed! I hope you enjoyed this chapter!


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